


The Pond by the Gardens

by unxpctedlygreat (Yurika_Schiffer)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27034327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yurika_Schiffer/pseuds/unxpctedlygreat
Summary: There is a pond in the far corner of the gardens of Castle Fhirdiad. It used to be Dimitri’s favorite place to be, back before it all went down. He hasn’t been there in a very, very long time.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	The Pond by the Gardens

**Author's Note:**

> No additional tags, we die like men (?) (I have no idea what to tag this as beyond the ship woops)
> 
> There are quick mentions of several ships, just in passing (Sylvain/Ingrid, Mercedes/Dedue, Ashe/Annette, Byleth/Seteth)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this little thing I wrote past midnight :sparkles: I was in the mood for softs.

There is a pond in the far corner of the gardens of Castle Fhirdiad. It used to be Dimitri’s favorite place to be, back before it all went down. He hasn’t been there in a very, very long time.

It seems the most logical place to go to tonight, though.

He stands by the pond, dressed in full regalia, crown heavy on his head. He’s king now. The last time he was here, he was just a prince, full of hopes and dreams and so unaware of the curses that come with being alive.

He knows better now. Knows the pain of life and the suffering that follows surviving when everything is telling you not to. He’s gone through it all and has come back out of it. Alive, in spite of everything.

He looks at the reflection of the moon in the water. The pond is quiet and peaceful, in a way that contrasts sharply with the excitement from within the castle walls, where the celebrations for his coronation are still going on strong.

He should be there. But it had started to feel suffocating, like he was drowning. And so he had slipped away.

He can picture each of his friends back there, all dressed up for the occasion. Even Ingrid had relented and had let Annette and Mercedes pretty her up. Dimitri remembers the look on Sylvain’s face when she’d arrived in the ballroom, remembers how hard it had been not to laugh at his friend’s expense. A fish out of water would have likely looked more graceful than Sylvain then. It hadn’t gotten better once Ingrid had come to greet them.

By now, Ingrid and Sylvain have probably retreated to a corner of the room that is more quiet, attempting and likely failing to keep their hands far from the other’s. Dimitri hadn’t seen their romance budding but he’d seen their smiles and the love in their eyes all the same.

Dedue and Mercedes were dancing when Dimitri slipped away, so he can imagine them taking a break now. Or perhaps not, too caught up in each other’s warm presence to notice the exhaustion seeping in their steps. This, he had seen the beginning of, back at the academy. He’s overjoyed for his dear friends and wishes them all the best.

He’d heard Annette whisper conspiratorially to Ashe earlier in the evening; something about ghosts in the corridors at night. Ashe had claimed he wasn’t afraid and that he would protect her, if she wished to explore the castle. Dimitri doesn’t know if there are any true ghosts in Fhirdiad, but he hopes not for their sake and for the sake of his knights.

The profes— no, the Archbishop. The Archbishop had been trying to hound Seteth into a dance all evening. Dimitri wonders if they’ve managed. It might have been fun to see the result of Byleth’s insistence, honestly.

There is the sound of footsteps coming closer from behind him. He doesn’t need to turn to know who it is.

Felix— Well.

Felix may have been the only one for which Dimitri couldn’t quite picture the evening.

He doesn’t look away from the pond, not even as Felix’s steps bring him next to Dimitri. Felix says nothing, and so Dimitri remains silent as well. It’s comfortable in a way that it hasn’t been in a long time.

Eventually, Felix breaks the silence. Not loudly, as Dimitri might have expected; his voice is soft, just loud enough to be heard. It doesn’t disturb the peace of the night. “They’ve noticed your absence,” he says.

Dimitri wonders if Felix noticed it first. “I needed some air,” he replies.

“You know, you could excuse yourself properly and go rest in your bedroom instead. What would they do?” Felix snorts. “Tell the _king_ he can’t go to bed?”

Dimitri feels the chuckle escape him before he can even think of retaining it. “I suppose not.” He shakes his head slightly. “I feel like I should stay a little longer, though. Entertain them for a while longer.”

Felix hums, something that sounds a little like agreement. Yet, the next time he speaks, he says, “I think you should go rest.”

Dimitri tears his gaze away from the moonlit pond to look at Felix. Felix, whose eyes are up looking at the moon. Whose face is bathed in the pale light of the night, stark against the darkness.

He looks beautiful, truly. Dimitri has always known that, but tonight it feels more real, more intense. He realizes it’s because Felix is relaxed. Shoulders high but not tense, the line of his neck long and smooth. His face open. His eyes leave the moon to glance at Dimitri from the corner and he raises an eyebrow in question.

Dimitri has let the silence stretch for too long, perhaps. But he doesn’t have words, not right now.

It isn’t much, he supposes. Having someone tell him to rest has happened countless times before, because he tends to overwork himself to the bone. But Felix said it in a way that meant much more than simply that.

Felix is relaxed and open, and he’s showing a little more of himself than he usually does. He cares. Dimitri knows that; the reminder still takes his breath away.

It feels so natural to hold a hand out then, fingers catching the loose strands of hair that Felix didn’t tie up tonight. Felix lets him, doesn’t flinch or look as he does it. Felix has never been comfortable with eye contact and yet he keeps his eyes on Dimitri’s face, as if daring him, challenging him and—

And Dimitri has never been one to refuse a challenge, much less from Felix.

When he settles his hands on Felix’s hip and cheek and kisses him, the crown on his head doesn’t feel as heavy. He has gone out looking for fresh air and he finds that it’s kissing Felix that ends up being the breath he takes once he gets out of the water.


End file.
